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🗞️ Driving the news: British cellist and poet Sarah Smout has returned from a 16-day artistic expedition to the Arctic, where she recorded the sounds of climate change using a carbon fibre cello and hydrophones
• Her debut album will feature natural recordings — including Arctic wind, creaking glaciers, and poetry written in Svalbard — to convey the accelerating environmental shifts she witnessed firsthand.
🔭 The context: The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the global average. Smout joined an international group of artists aboard a research vessel in Svalbard, an archipelago within the Arctic Circle
• There, she observed ice shelves cracking and breaking, underscoring the region's vulnerability to rising temperatures and sea level threats
• Her artistic response builds on a tradition of using culture to foster environmental awareness
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: By transforming scientific reality into an emotional and artistic experience, Smout’s project aims to bridge the gap between data and public engagement
• As Arctic ice retreats, the global climate system faces rising instability — yet the region remains distant for many
• Through sound and music, her work invites audiences to connect with the fragility of the Arctic and reflect on their role in climate stewardship
⏭️ What's next: Smout is completing her album, which will combine cello compositions, Arctic soundscapes, and spoken word to document the urgency of climate change
• With a focus on water and interconnected ecosystems, her work seeks to inspire action through empathy
• The project may also expand to live performances or multimedia exhibitions to further amplify its impact
💬 One quote: "Music is a brilliant way to bring people together, speak to their hearts and minds and inspire them to make decisions themselves to bring about positive change," — Sarah Smout
📈 One stat: The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the planet, according to the latest scientific assessments
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